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Abstract: 

While registering an independent standalone charity in the U.K. is often the most appropriately legal option for a U.S. not-forprofit wishing to establish a foothold in Europe, forming an independent charity with its attendant regulatory costs may not always be appropriate. Where control, rather than tax breaks, is of paramount importance, an alternative may be to establish either a branch (by which we mean an office in the U.S. parent’s name) or a wholly owned trading subsidiary (i.e., a separate legal entity from the U.S. parent). The U.K. is relatively free of red tape and bureaucracy in comparison to other jurisdictions within the European Union and a new business or enterprise can commence trading in a very short period of time, which partly explains why foreign investment in the U.K. is greater than anywhere else in the European Union. In this article, I address some of the pros and cons of a U.S. not-forprofit establishing a branch versus forming a U.K. trading subsidiary.

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Affiliations:  1: Bircham Dyson Bell.